Post-traumatic stress disorder in Dutch psychiatric in-patients

✍ Scribed by Johan E. Hovens; Henk M. van der Ploeg

• Publisher: Springer
• Year: 1993
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 515 KB
• Volume: 6
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0894-9867
• DOI: 10.1002/jts.2490060108

✦ Synopsis

The present sludy addresses the use of standardized PTSD scales in determining traumatizarion in psychiatric inpalienls. Twenty-eight (53%) out of 53 psychiatric inpalients reported an experience of a psychological trauma. Fifteen subjects did fulfill the srressor criterion of DSM-III-R, while the trauma of anolher I2 subjects appeared to be a major negative life event.

On I W O PTSD scales, on average, Ihe 15 traumalized subjects showed the highest scores. On these PTSD scales the 12 subjects with major life events appeared 10 resemble the nonlraumatized subjects. In general psychiatric symptomatology, as measured by the SCL-90, the traumatized subjects showed a significant higher Phobic Anxiety score. It is concluded that specific PTSD scales can differentiate between 'objectively' traumatized patients and other patienls, while a general psychiatric screening instrument (SCL-90) cannot.